This invention relates to the art of electrical connecting apparatus, and more particularly to a new and improved apparatus for transferring the electrical connections of a circuit card of an electrical system from a fixed connector in a congested area of a master interconnect board to a convenient access area of the board.
Many electrical and electronic systems include printed circuit boards or cards connected in closely spaced, stacked relation to a system reference board or master interconnect board. A problem occurs in attempting to work on components of a particular printed circuit board, for example making tests, since the board is located so close to a neighboring board in the stacked arrangement that access is extremely difficult and usually impossible.
A solution of the prior art is known as an extender card which is a card or board of substantially the same size as the printed circuit board or card having electrical connectors on opposite edges of the card and interconnected by electrical leads. The printed circuit board to be tested is disconnected from the stack, the extender card is connected in its place, and the board to be tested is connected to the extender card. While this provides easy access to the printed circuit board, the leads of the extender card significantly increase the electrical signal path lengths which can be undesirable in certain situations.